It was a big start to the year for Toyota as its locally designed and built Hilux racing bakkies secured first and second place at Dakar 2025.

Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk – team Overdrive Racing – took top honours, pipping South Africa’s Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings to the post by 3 minutes and 57 seconds.

Lategan and Cummings – part of Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) – led the chase across the Saudi Arabian landscape for nine stages, only to see victory slip away during the last two stages.

Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi now also leads the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship standings, as the Dakar Rally is Round 1 of this championship, from his nearest rival, Lategan.

“It was a bittersweet race for us, to come all of this way, do two weeks of racing over thousands of kilometres, late nights, early mornings, and then to miss out by four minutes!” says Lategan.

“But to get onto the podium is fantastic. It’s our first podium and it’s a great achievement. It’s amazing what the team has done and what we could manage with this race.

“We’ll keep trying, we’ll keep pushing. We’ll improve the car, we’ll improve ourselves, we’ll gain more experience and we’ll come back stronger next year.”

TGR’s Saood Variawa, another South African, became the youngest stage winner in the Ultimate Class when he won Stage 3 of the event. However, a collision in Stage 2, as well as a technical issue later in the event, cost him and French team mate Francois Cazalet dearly, and they finished 9 hours and 29 minutes behind the leaders.

Two TGR crews were unable to complete the 2025 Dakar Rally.

The first to retire was the veteran duo of Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz, who had to stop racing after Stage 6, when Von Zitzewitz developed extreme neck pain mid-stage.

The second retirement was that of Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy, who had driven a steady race until Stage 9, when they suffered a crash that put an end to their rally.

“It’s an incredible experience. The team, the car – brilliant,” notes Toyota South Africa Motors marketing VP Glenn Crompton.

“The Toyota – which was built in South Africa, that was made by South African people, that was supported by South African brands, has delivered another successful Dakar.

“So, obviously, the most important thing about this whole event is – it’s not a bakkie, it’s a Hilux. And what a Hilux!”

Motorsport Media reports that 55% of the car entries in Dakar 2025 were designed, built and developed in South Africa.